Voting-machine.



No. 674,388. Patented May 2|, |901.v

' W'. A. SWAREN.

VOTING MACHINE.' (Appncacon med sept. 1, 1900.;

(No Model.)

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Y Patented May'2|, I90l. W. A. SWAHEN. VTIVNG'MAGHINE. (Appumimi med sep:k 1, 19oo.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

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'UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

WILLIAM A. SWAREN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGrNOR OF THREE-FOURTI-IS TO THOMAS C. DOLAN, OF SAME PLACE; GEORGE E. FARRELL, OF CHAR- LOTTE, IOWA; JOSEPH B. WALKER, OF EFFINGIIAM, ILLINOIS, AND JOHN W. DOLAN AND WILLIAM M. DOLAN, OF ELVIRA, IOWA.

VOTING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 674,388, dated May 21, 190'1.

Application filed September l, 1900. Serial No. 28,735. (No model.) 4

To all whom it may concern:

Be it Yknovvn that I, WILLIAM A. SWAREN, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in VotingMachines, of Which the following is a specification.

The main objects of my invention are to -Io provide improved means in machines of this class which willpermit the operator to review his intended vote and alter same by readjusting the positions of the keys at any time be- Y fore the vote is registered and to provide an improved arrangement of mechanism for actuating the registering devices.

The further objects of the diderent parts with which I put my invention into practice will he understood from the following descripzo tion, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure 1 is a top plan of a voting-machine constructed according to my invention and having the cover removed from same. Fig.

2 is a vertical section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, including the cover. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1, including the cover and having the first voting-key moved to a position toward the front of the casing opposite the line marked Prohibition .in Fig. 1. t

Said views shovv the mechanism in proper position previous to the registering of the vote andv when the cover of the casing is open. When the device is in this position, the operator may freely'move the keys 1 along the slots 4 opposite any of the party-lines, (indivcatedin Fig. 1.) y

)The device shown consists mainly of the .to casing 5, having a cover 6 hinged thereto at '7, the key-supporting frame or platform 8 with the movable keys thereon, the shifting frame 9, supporting the registering devices 10 and supporting the levers 11, which actuate the registering devices through contact with thefingers V12 of the keys 1, and the gearing for shifting ythe frame 9.

The platform is rigidly secured in the casing, being .supported by the cross-pieces 13. A cross-piece 14 extends along and under each 5o slot 4.A Each key 1 has its base 15 slidingly supported on one of said cross-pieces 14. The keys 1 are thus free to be moved along said slots and upon their respective cross-pieces 14.

The levers 1l are supported in the frame 9 55 upon shafts 16 and are movahly held by the springs 17in the position shown in Fig. 2, with the lovver` arms of said levers resting against the shafts 18. Each lever is provided With a pawl 19, Which engages with thev teeth on the 6o ratchet-wheel 20. Each Wheel 10 is numbered on its periphery, as shown in Fig. 3. Said wheels 10 are loose on the shaft 13, but are sufficiently tight on said shaft to prevent same from turning except When actuated by the pawl 19. Each wheel 10 has a single tooth 21, which engages with the gear-wheel 22 at each revolution of the Wheel 10. The gear-Wheel 22 meshes WithV the gear-Wheel 23, which is rigidly secured to the numbered Wheel 24. The 7o Wheel 24 vis similarly geared to the wheel 25 hy means of the connecting gear-wheel 26.

The gearfwheels 22 and 26 are loose on the shafts 2 7. The ratchet-wheels 2O are rigidly secured to the wheels l0.

The frame 9 is movable from left to right in Fig. 2, said frame sliding along the cornerirons 28, which are rigidly secured to the bottom of the casing and provided with slots 29, in which the screws 30 are slidable. screws 30 are secured to the frame 9, as shown in Fig. 3. The frame is provided with cams 3l and 32, which are acted upon by the cams 33 and34, respectively. The cams 33 and 34 are each rigidly secured to a rack 35, which Said 8o Y 36 through the action'of the sector 40 and the intermediate gear-wheels. This will move the racks 35 toward the rear of Fig. 1. The cam 33 will then cause the frame V9 to be moved toward the right of Figs. 1 and 2,said lcam 33 acting against the cam 31. The arm 45 is rigidly connected by uprights 45 with the `racks 35. Said arm 45 is thus lcarried -along with said rack toward the right of Fig.

3 or toward the rear of Fig. 1. The arm 45 moves along the top of the platform 8 and returns the keys 1 out of voting position to the rear of Fig. l. The arm is so vlocated with respect to the cams 33 and 3l that said y arm vwill not act against the keys 1 until after the arm 9 has been shifted so as to actuate the registers. The projection 48 is rigidly secured to the rack35 at the leftiof the device and is designed to act against the cam 31 to prevent any shifting of the frame 9 when the rack is in its rear position. The arm 46 is supported on some ofthe cross-pieces 14 and is slidable along the top of the platform 8 behind the keys 1. Said arm 46 is provided with a button 47, whereby the op. erator may move the arm, so as to bring all of the keys 1 into any desired party-line. Thus instead of moving each of the keys separately the operator may by means of the arm 46 move all of the keys together to the line of any desired party. H

The operation of my device is as follows: When the cover is open, the voter may move the keys l along the slots 4 into the desired voting position. In Fig. l th'e letters A toZ, inclusive, Z, and Zb indicate the different voting positions. A registering device comprising the three wheels l0, 24, and 25 is located under each of saidv voting positions.

The position of each key 1 will therefore int.

dicate the particular registering device to rloe actuated. vThe names of the candidates willA appear in the spaces indicated by the letters A move the key for each of the other o'ces to the positions adjoining the names vof the can didates for whom he wishes -to Vote. `Thus to vote for the Populist candidate for attorney-general the key in theslot 4 at the leftA of the column, which is marked For attorney-general, will be moved forward t-o its position shownin Fig. l, adjoining the reference-letter S.` If the operator wishes to vote a straight party ticket, he will move -the arm 46 forward, so as to bring all of the keys in line4 with the 'name of the desired party. At any time before the operatorbe-v gins to close thecover h e may change the p0- sition of any of the keys in its respective slot. He may thus review his intended vote before any of the registers are actuated. When thev keys have beenadj usted as desired, theoper-y atorl will close the coverby swinging same vthe casing.

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forward on its hinges 7. This will move the frame 9 through the action of the gearing and racks, as before described. When the frame 9 is moved toward the right of Figs. 1y and 2, the upper ends of the levers 11 will abut against the fingers 12 of the keys 1. This will tilt the levers 11 on .their shafts 16 and turn the respective wheels 10 through the action of the cams 19. At each tilting of a lever 1l its wheel 10 will be given onetenth of a revolution. lO will, through the toothV 2l and gear-wheel 22, impart one-tenth of a revolution to the wheel 24. Each revolution of the wheel 24 will likewiseimpart one-tenth of a revolution to the wheel 25. The wheels 10, 24, and 25 represent units, tens, and hundreds, respectively. The number indicating the count will be that shown by said wheels as nearest the transparent section 49 in the bottom of It will be seen that only those registers will be actuated which haveone of the keys 1 located in proper position to act upon` the levers l1 corresponding with such registers. 'Ihe bottomof the casing or the transparent section 49 will be suitably marked to correspond with the marking of candidates on the platformS. Whenthe cover is entirely closed upon thecasing, the arm 45 will -have acted Vupon the keys so as tomove same back out of voting position. When the cover is again opened, the cam 34, acting against the cam 32, will return the frame 9 to the position shown in the drawings, when the next voter mayvagain kadj ust the keys. After the voting has been completed the cover will he lockeddown upon thecasing. The votemay then be counted by turningthe device bottom side up, when the votes for the different candidates may be seen-through the trans- Each revolution of the wheel,

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`parent section 49 on the Arespective register-` IIO- with said voting positions for denoting the number of votes cast; a movable cover onl said vcasing adaptedwhen closed to prevent accessto said keys; andmechanism connected with saidcover and adapted, thro ugh the closing of the'cover, to actuate the registering devices corresponding with'the voting positions to which saidfkeys .have 'been .previously moved.

- "12.' 'A voting-.machine comprising a casing vhaving therein a platform with a series of slots' extending through said platform; va frame erases within the casing supporting a plurality of registering devices along each .slot and inward of the platform; a key slidable along each slot and having a handle on the outside of the platform and afinger extending through its slot and adapted to have contact with any of the registering devices opposite which said key may be moved along said slot; and mechanism for changing the relative position of the platform and said frame and thereby actuating the registering devices opposite which said keys have been previously moved.

3. A voting-machine comprising a casing having therein a platform with a series of slots extending through said platform; a frame within the casing supporting a plurality of registering devices along each slot and inward of the platform; a key slidable along each slot and having a handle on the outside of the platform and a nger extending through its slot and adapted to have contact with any of the registering devices opposite which said key may be moved along said slot; a movable cover 011 said casing adapted to prevent access to'said keys when the cover is closed, and mechanism actuated by the closing of said cover so as to change the relative position of the platform and said frame and thereby actuate the registering devices opposite which said keys have been previously moved.

4:. A voting-machine comprising a casing; a key-supporting frame in said casing havinga series of cross-pieces, and having a platform ,with slots extending along and protected by said cross-pieces; a keyslidably mounted upon each of said cross-pieces, and movable into a plurality of different voting positions, having a handle `extending outside of the platform, and a finger extending inside of the platform; a frame in said casing carrying an independent. registering device for each of saidvoting positions; s aid registering devices each having a connection adapted to have contact With one of said iingers, one of said frames being movable in the casing relatively to the other frame, and adapted through such movement to cause said contact, and thereby actuate the registering devices corresponding with the voting positions at such time occcupied by said keys; substantially as described.

- 5. A voting-machine comprising a casing; a key-supporting' frame in said casing having a platform with slots therein; a key slidable along each-of said slots, into a plurality of different voting positions, and having a handle extending outside of the platform, and a linger extending inside -of the platform; a frame in said casing carrying an independent registering device lfor each of said voting positions; said registering devices each having a connection adapted to have contact with one of said fingers one of said frames being movable in the casing relatively to the pother frame, and adapted through such movement to cause said contact, and thereby actuate the registering devices corresponding with the voting positions at such time occupied by said keys; substantially as described.

6. A voting-machine comprising a casing; a key-supporting frame in said casing having a platform with slots therein; a key slidable along each of said slots, into a plurality of diiferent voting positions, and having'a handle extending outside of the platform, and a linger extending inside of the platform; a second frame in said casing carrying an independent registering device for each of said voting positions; said registering devices each having a ratchet-wheel for actuating same; a series of independent levers fulcrumedin said second frame, and each having a pawl for engaging one of said ratchet-wheels, and an arm for contact with one of said fingers; one of said frames being movable in the casing relatively to the other frame, and adapted through such movement to. cause said contact and thereby actuate the registering devices cor-- described.

7. A voting-machine comprising a casing having a movable cover; a key-supporting frame in said casing having thereon a series of keys each independently movable into a plurality of different voting positions on such frame; a frame in said casing carrying an independent registering device for each of said voting positions; one of said frames being movable in the casing relatively to the other frame; a rack longitudinally-:movable in the casing and having a cam bearing against and adapted to shi ft said movable frame; gearing connecting said cover and rack, whereby said movable frame is shifted by the closing of the cover; and connections between said keys and registering devices adapted through the shifting of said frame to actuate the registering devices corresponding with the voting positions at such time occupied by said keys; substantially as described.

S. A voting-machine comprising a casing; a platform having a series of parallel slots; a key slidable longitudinally of each of said slots into a plurality of different voting positions, and having a projection extending in- Ward of said platform; a series 0f,independ-.

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Signed `at Chicagmlllinois, this 27th day of y Witnesses:

- WM. R. RUMMLER,

ALICE DICK. 

